In the surface mount field, surface mount electronic components (referred to below as electronic parts) including ICs (integrated circuits), transistor, diodes, condensers, piezoelectric resistors and the like are supplied after being packaged in electronic part packages derived from carrier tape and cover tape that is heat-sealed to the carrier tape, and after the electronic part packages have been wound onto a reel. When the packaged electronic parts in electronic part packages are surface-mounted onto an electronic circuit board, the cover tape is delaminated from the electronic part package that has been unwound from a reel, and the electronic part is removed from a pocket in the carrier tape.
At the same time, during transport of the electronic part that is packaged in an electronic part package, static electricity is generated through friction between the cover tape and the electronic part, which gives the cover tape a static charge. Moreover, static electricity is generated when the cover tape is delaminated from the carrier tape, which gives the cover tape a static charge. Recently, along with the miniaturization and high functionalization of electronic devices, there is rapid progress wherein electronic parts for mounting in electronic devices are being miniaturized and made lighter in weight. When such miniaturized and light-weight electronic parts are stuck to cover tape bearing a static charge, there are concerns that process troubles can occur, such as pick-up defects. Moreover, there are concerns that the electronic parts might be damaged due to electrostatic discharge from the electrically charged cover tape.
To counteract problems generated by such electrically charged cover tapes, for example, a top tape (corresponding to a cover tape) was disclosed in Patent Document 1, equipped with a surface layer, an intermediate layer having an antistatic function, a heat-sealing material layer, and an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer contains a conductive substance to prevent a static electric charge, and adheres to the surface layer and intermediate layer. For this conductive substance, metals are used such as tin oxide, gold, silver, copper, iron, nickel, or zinc, or carbon materials such as Ketjen Black or acetylene black.